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My Escapes Portugal Another Lovely Trip to Portugal! Lisbon Dipping Into Lisbon Baixa
Baixa
Baixa is essentially the city-core of Lisbon.
This district can be clearly noticed on maps due to the many straight streets that run in parallel, creating a net-like formation.
Baixa is famous for its Pombaline architecture, it's popular for eating out and you'll also find a plethora of accommodation facilities there.
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Baixa is clearly visible on the map - as the central street grid-covered area north of the scenic Praça do Comércio, between the Cais do Sodré (to the west) and the Alfama districts.
This place too, was built after the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake and is often referred to as Pombaline Baixa or Pombaline District, having been built by the Marquis of Pombal, just like the district of Chiado.
Before the great earthquake, Lisbon's central area had a different layout.
But, it's not just the grid layout that's interesting - but the structures of the individual buildings too, which were built specifically to resist future earthquakes.
The buildings have an embedded wooden cage framework to hinder the dwellings from falling apart.
It is said that in order to test the buildings' resistance to earthquakes, there
Baixa is also beautiful architecturally - even though most buildings here are intended for housing, shops etc.
Above you can see a beautiful example of architecture in the area (the building of the Internacional Design Hotel is found on the Rua da Betesga 3).
The hotel charged an average minimum rate of around 300 EUR per night, so the prices are spicy, but the interiors are uniquely beautiful (it's a design hotel, as its name suggests).
Although, the Pombaline era buildings are generally rather simple, there are several "delicious" ones painted in vivid colours and bearing rich ornaments.
Baixa is one of the best places to eat out, when in Lisbon.
The pastéis de nata are the most notorious pastry products in Portugal and particularly the Baixa area in Lisbon has a plethora of shops selling them.
Besides Portuguese restaurants, a bunch of other ethnic cuisines from all over the World are very well-represented.
If you want to go on tour, visiting various areas of Lisbon, perhaps choosing a hotel in Baixa or in the adjacent neighbourhoods would be best.
I did so and it made everything easier.
This is the core of Lisbon and the metro stations Rossio, Baixa-Chiado, Martim Moniz, Restauradoes metro stations are in the area - great access nodes.
Just a bank...
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In addition, a large number of tour bus-operating companies have their ticket selling booths and stations in northern Baixa and trams also circulate here (Rossio and Fugueira Squares area).
Somewhere south of the Rossio Square
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About the Author:
Escape Hunter, the young solo traveler in his early 30's explores the World driven by curiosity, thirst for adventure, deep passion for beauty, love for freedom and diversity.
With a nuanced, even humorous approach to travel, an obsession for art and design, Escape Hunter prefers to travel slowly, in order to learn and "soak up" the local atmosphere...
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As "Escape Hunter" - the curious incognito traveler with an insatiable drive to explore, I embark on slow and deep travels around
our beautiful World.
Join me and I will show you exciting destinations
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Travel Slang Dictionary
Guide to my personal travel slang vocabulary, which seasons my content...
The "Internacional Design Hotel"